ICC World Cup 2023: Key takeaways from ENG vs NZ match in Ahmedabad

England were hammered by New Zealand in the opening game of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Hers' what went wrong for them and right for the Kiwis

Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway looked like two giants playing with a football on a cricket field. They did not give even a single chance to the English bowlers, smashing their way to individual hundreds and a memorable nine-wicket win for New Zealand in the first match of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 5 October 2023.

Several things went wrong for defending champions England, but the Kiwis did many things right to get to this total, one of which was winning the toss.

Toss played a significant role in New Zealand’s win

After winning the toss, Kiwi skipper Tom Latham decided to field first. Initially, commentators called it a great toss to lose for Buttler, only to realise that it was not a blessing in disguise as the wicket became tough to play in the first innings as soon as spinners started to operate. In the second innings, the dew made it hard for the spinners to grip, and New Zealand marched on to a win.

Impressive bowling from the Kiwis

Though the pitch was aiding the spinners, more noticeable was the improvement by the Kiwi bowlers after the early onslaught by Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan. Trent Boult corrected his line, and Matt Henry kept bowling in the corridor of uncertainty or what we call the fourth and fifth stump channel with the new ball. This paved the way for Malan’s downfall.

The spinners, especially Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips, were impressive. Santner forced batters to make room and, as a result, trapped the likes of Bairstow and Chris Woakes.

Phillips was a surprise package as he removed Moeen Ali first up and then got rid of Joe Root as well with his orthodox off-spin, which crashed into the stumps of both batters as they played the wrong line.

Brilliant introduction of Rachin Ravindra

Ravindra was chosen in the New Zealand squad as the third spin bowling option apart from Ish Sodhi and Santner. However, his brilliant showing in the warm-up games forced the Kiwis to change their plans and introduce him as a top-order batter who would also bowl. The results were positive as he smashed his maiden ODI century on his World Cup debut.

No Bazball in ODIs!

The Bazball effect faded away for England as they were not able to find the right frame to play the kind of attacking cricket they would have liked to play. Having beaten this very Kiwi side back home in England, they couldn't find the right template to attack as they lost wickets at quick intervals.

England lacked killer instinct in the field

Another mistake made by the English side was not going for wickets early on. After Chris Woakes was unable to swing the ball early on, Mark Wood kept bowling short of length and never went for killer bouncers. There was no attempt at all by Buttler to take a wicket even as the Kiwi batters kept on mounting the runs. Maybe two slips and a short leg and going for the bouncers via Wood, or two slips in place and asking Moeen to turn the ball! But nothing of that sort was done. They just let Ravindra and Conway dictate the pace.